Phantom Resolution....anyway to improve...?

[JohnnySix]

Sometimes I just count myself lucky that I don't suffer from sensitivity to these musical minutiae. The overall experience, the rhythm, and the drama are all that I respond to. The Phantoms are phenomenal for their size & convenience, but this "better-than-20,30,50K" thing should never have taken root (very unprofessional of Devialet Marketing if you ask me.)
Those of us not inherently rich are just glad to find something that hits that "sweet spot" of cost vs performance!
The most disturbing thing is the almost abrupt halt they bring to my 25 years of incremental HiFi upgrading. What can I spend my money on now? (ALL SHOUT: "MUSIC!")

[phantomaussie]

Sometimes I just count myself lucky that I don't suffer from sensitivity to these musical minutiae. The overall experience, the rhythm, and the drama are all that I respond to. The Phantoms are phenomenal for their size & convenience, but this "better-than-20,30,50K" thing should never have taken root (very unprofessional of Devialet Marketing if you ask me.)
Those of us not inherently rich are just glad to find something that hits that "sweet spot" of cost vs performance!
The most disturbing thing is the almost abrupt halt they bring to my 25 years of incremental HiFi upgrading. What can I spend my money on now? (ALL SHOUT: "MUSIC!")

 I agree, Same Here,well said JohnnySix !

[em0]

I am a very happy Phantom owner (2 Silver Phantoms + Dialog) - as I mentioned in other threads there are some issues (I really need a folder view in Spark due to the nature of my library, and I had to connect both Phantoms and Dialog with cables to allow for proper 24bit/192kHz playback) but they are truly minor when weighed against the incredible sound these guys produce. I've owned Sonos products for years... yes their app is superior (I've been a beta tester for Sonos, I truly believe their beta program allows the app to develop without introducing issues) but there is absolutely no comparison when it comes to sound, and I've used Sonos in stereo pairs as well. My Sony HAP-Z1E and Bryston BDP-1 with BDA-2 are both very good digital players - Sony has a great app, while Bryston utilizes MDP and assorted apps. Since I purchased the Phantoms I've found myself barely listening to my other gear. Yes my 2.0 set-up is much more expensive, my full-range tower speakers offer a more complete sound, etc... But for daily listening I still turn to the Phantoms and my 2.0 set-up is mostly reserved for analog and long listening sessions.

I guess the best judge of the Phantoms was my wife. She hated the price tag, hated their look (I can't even mention what she said about the power cables), but as soon as I played Adele for her and the vocals carried through the room... she looked at me and simply said "I approve."

[MountainGuy]

Sometimes I just count myself lucky that I don't suffer from sensitivity to these musical minutiae. The overall experience, the rhythm, and the drama are all that I respond to. The Phantoms are phenomenal for their size & convenience, but this "better-than-20,30,50K" thing should never have taken root (very unprofessional of Devialet Marketing if you ask me.)
Those of us not inherently rich are just glad to find something that hits that "sweet spot" of cost vs performance!
The most disturbing thing is the almost abrupt halt they bring to my 25 years of incremental HiFi upgrading. What can I spend my money on now? (ALL SHOUT: "MUSIC!")

One of the beauty of life is variety - we are all different.  For me, having a piano in my living room, and then listening to the Phantoms, I don't consider the query about resolution 'minutiae'.  But I do acknowledge that this differs from person to person.  One person's critical requirement is another's minutiae....and vice versa perhaps....

[JohnnySix]

Not criticising your powers of perception of course. Very lucky for you to hear real instruments regularly... But I guess that having that awareness is the curse that drags a person ever higher up the HiFi chain, in pursuit of the unattainable (true reality!)

[sleach]

I like having systems they do different things. For me the phantoms can play with a weight and scale that my other system won't do. My other system can do space, air and detail just a little better. I really like both.


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[frenkb]

My hearing is hosed, so I'm quite happy to leave behind my megabux system... It's close enough for me... If I get a bit precious then I can see the attraction of a big system, but it's become a bit of a burden to me.

I don't even spend my money on music now, it's all streamed. Leaves me time, space and money to pursue other interests. I don't want to accumulate  a lot of things just experiences.

Hear hear!!

[MountainGuy]

Lol good to read all the responses....apparently I'm alone on this needing more resolution thing to have my music sound more real to a live instrument.... That's OK - good to have a sense of consensus and apparently I am an outlier. (Though it could also be that those who want more resolution do not get Phantoms and thus do not frequent this forum.) But it is impressive to see what the Phantoms replaced for some of you.

[BowlOfPetunias]

As I said Previously, you have to look at the big picture.
The phantoms are not ALL about the sound.
I believe it is not the greatest sound in the world. And why should they be?

BUT :
- it's a small speaker
- it's a lovely designed speaker
- my wife like small and lovely thing that you can't see in the living room
- the sound is more than okay

So it's the BEST compromise you can have.
It's just a bit expensive...

You've absolutely hit the nail on the head there in my opinion.  The sound from the Phantom's is as good if not better in certain areas than any 'traditional hifi' I've ever owned.  Could they be improved? - yes of course, but as an overall package it's pretty killer.

My overall concern if the cost - when I look over the room and see £3.1k say there I do feel a bit guilty.  Yes the racks, boxes and cables are gone but at quite a cost.

I'm going to be ordering 2x Sonos Play 5's when they're released next week and the Sonos Sub.  It won't be better than the Phantoms, I know that already from other Sonos kit I have in the house.  The question is how close does it come for the cost of 1 Phantom without a Dialog?

Oh yes and I don't like the Dialog much at all, if the kids touched it they'd burn their fingers it gets so bloody hot and in my opinion if you need a box to make Phantoms work in stereo, Devialet should include it FOC when you buy your second Phantom.  It felt like a kick in the nuts paying more for the second Phantom than the first as I also needed a Dialog.  Lastly it doesn't help that Spark is so poor that the stereo link is all I use the Dialog for and a Sonos connect picks up the heavy lifting.

[angenet]

Hi

Interesting stuffs really...
I have the same problem here and I'm now proud owner of four silver... and still having two sonos at home... The plan is to get rid of the sonos and get a fifth phantom for the Dining room... but as you rightly said... the cost and the cost... I was thinking about the Sonos play 5 for the dining room and Kitchen... at half the price of a Silver... but quite happy with the sound of the Sound of the Phantom... But will wait to hear the new play 5 before deciding...